The Diary of a Teenage Girl

"Sex, drugs, and recordings of it all."

2015 1h 42m EN

👍

6.6

SOLID

★6.6TMDB · 812

DramaRomanceComedy

Synopsis

Spoiler shield

Minnie Goetze is a 15-year-old aspiring comic-book artist, coming of age in the haze of the 1970s in San Francisco. Insatiably curious about the world around her, Minnie is a pretty typical teenage girl. Oh, except that she’s sleeping with her mother’s boyfriend.

“Sex, drugs, and recordings of it all.”

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Cast

Bel Powley
Minnie Goetze
Kristen Wiig
Charlotte Worthington
Alexander Skarsgård
Monroe Rutherford
Christopher Meloni
Pascal MacCorkill
Austin Lyon
Ricky Wasserman
Madeleine Waters
Kimmie Minter
Margarita Levieva
Tabatha
Quinn Nagle
Chuck Saunders

Credits

Behind the camera

Director: Marielle Heller
Writers: Marielle Heller
Languages: Turkish, English
Countries: United States of America

Want more? Switch to Cinephile mode in the header for DP, composer, budget, box office, production companies, keywords, and release history.

Did you know?

Fun facts 🍿

1 / 8

MONEY

Did you know

Shot for just $2.0M — micro-budget by Hollywood standards.

MoodPlayr · trivia#01

2 / 8

MONEY

Did you know

Earned back only 74% of its budget on initial theatrical — a commercial disappointment on release.

MoodPlayr · trivia#02

3 / 8

ERA

Did you know

Released 11 years ago.

MoodPlayr · trivia#03

4 / 8

WORLD

Did you know

Dialogue crosses 2 languages: Turkish, English.

MoodPlayr · trivia#04

5 / 8

DIRECTOR

Did you know

Directed by Marielle Heller, shot by Brandon Trost. Note their partnership — DPs and directors often return to each other across a career.

MoodPlayr · trivia#05

6 / 8

DIRECTOR

Did you know

Original score by Nate Heller. Worth a dedicated listen after — most great films lose half their impact without the score.

MoodPlayr · trivia#06

7 / 8

DIRECTOR

Did you know

Editor Marie-Hélène Dozo shaped the rhythm. On an edit-heavy film, the editor does more to control your pulse than the director.

MoodPlayr · trivia#07

8 / 8

CAST

Did you know

Bel Powley and Kristen Wiig and Alexander Skarsgård carry the top of the cast.

MoodPlayr · trivia#08

Cinephile deep dive

The take

Marielle Heller directs. Brandon Trost behind the camera. Nate Heller scores. Marie-Hélène Dozo cuts. A commercial under-performer on release. Produced in United States of America. Dialogue in Turkish, English.

Trivia

Things worth knowing

1Shot for just $2.0M — micro-budget by Hollywood standards.
2Earned back only 74% of its budget on initial theatrical — a commercial disappointment on release.
3Released 11 years ago.
4Dialogue crosses 2 languages: Turkish, English.
5Directed by Marielle Heller, shot by Brandon Trost. Note their partnership — DPs and directors often return to each other across a career.
6Original score by Nate Heller. Worth a dedicated listen after — most great films lose half their impact without the score.
7Editor Marie-Hélène Dozo shaped the rhythm. On an edit-heavy film, the editor does more to control your pulse than the director.
8Bel Powley and Kristen Wiig and Alexander Skarsgård carry the top of the cast.
9Marketing tagline: "Sex, drugs, and recordings of it all.".
10IMDB entry: tt3172532 — still the authoritative cross-reference for credits and trivia.
11Classified under 11 themes, including "san francisco, california", "1970s", "based on comic", "coming of age".

The technical file

Cinematography: Brandon Trost
Original score: Nate Heller
Editing: Marie-Hélène Dozo
Production design: Jonah Markowitz
Costume design: Carmen Grande
Makeup / hair: Anouck Sullivan
Sound: Kent Sparling
Runtime: 102 min · 1h 42m
Aspect ratio (typical): 1.37:1 (Academy)
Status: Released
Budget: $2,000,000
Box office: $1,477,002
Return: 74% of budget
Original language: EN
Certification (US): R
IMDB: The Diary of a Teenage Girl (2015)

Awards

Sundance Special Jury Prize Dramatic

Individual records documented via Wikidata; the summary above may count more.

Also by

Marielle Heller

Stills · wallpapers

Selected frames

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Trailers & featurettes

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Community reviews

What people are saying

Reno2016-10-14
★ 7/10
A teen girl's sexual exploration. Well, the first thing is this film is not for everyone. Because the contents were too strong for being a teen theme. That means it is good for the grown ups to watch. The story of a 15 year old girl in the 70s living with her mother and small sister. It begins when her sexual urges takes off, her first with a middle aged man. So she documents everything and besides, with her close friend's support, they together explore even more options. Being a minor and yet her real life to commence, what she plans for the future determines the remaining developments. The performance by Bel Powley was amazing. She was the perfect choice to play that role despite she's older than the role. There were many nudes and sex scenes, but was not that strong, especially when compared with the similar themes of the present era films. The pace had lots of ups and downs, but the progression was on the right path which actually saved the film. The story was just fine, no complication to understand and also not easy to explain, but in a short, it was a teenage girl's sexual exploration. Everybody gets into that stage of life, but only few courageously opts a path to accomplish. And for some, it is an open opportunity that makes them to get there than intentionally make that move. I felt the film was well adapted from its book and directed by a newcomer, Surely worth a watch, but again I'm saying that it is not for everyone. 7/10
Alunauwie2025-09-30
★ 8/10
The Diary of a Teenage Girl explores the emotional and psychological journey of Minnie, a 15-year-old girl growing up in a dysfunctional family environment. Through unique visual storytelling, including animation and voice recordings, the film presents her struggle with identity, love, and self-worth. The story reveals how a lack of parental affection and a toxic environment influence her misguided decisions. Despite its controversial themes, the film delivers strong performances and ends with meaningful character growth. It offers powerful lessons about parenting, emotional needs, and adolescent development. Read the full review here: (Indonesian version : alunauwie.com) and (English version : uwiepuspita.com)